Our apologies to everyone we thought could make a difference in the war on drugs.

We had no idea we are simply in a containment mode.

We are no longer looking to put the horse back into the barn.

It is an epidemic that can't be eradicated.

It is now all about control.

Read on.

"Where you been?" was all the text message said. But it meant much more. A dealer had a new stash. He was nearby and ready to deliver.

"Had some bad Chinese food" is another text message that seemed innocuous to a parent. But to her teenage son it meant someone has a bad batch of heroin and should be avoided.

On Facebook, the messages can be even more explicit, letting buyers know exactly what’s available and where.

"The beauty of the Internet," sighed Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi. "At a push of a button, there could be distribution schemes that are occurring and people being able to get it."

Officials say this is a new surge unlike anything they have seen before.

"What is significant about this cycle is the introduction of prescription opiates that have come upon the scene," said Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III. "We’re seeing a greater number of addictions to heroin as a result of prescription painkillers."

The market is flooded, the price has dropped, and with a generation of young, tech-savvy opiate addicts running low on cash and pills, the demand has exploded.

"I would say it’s an epidemic," said Dover Detective Sgt. Richard Gonzalez. "It’s stronger, it’s cheaper and a lot of kids think it’s popular, so they try it once and then they are hooked."

Statewide, the number of New Jerseyans between the ages of 18 and 25 admitted to addiction treatment centers for heroin rose by more than 12 percent between 2010 and 2011, the last year for which data is available, according to Gov. Chris Christie’s Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Drug dealers — like all good businessmen — are seeing opportunities to franchise, setting up in Morris, Cape May, Sussex, Monmouth, Ocean, Warren and Hunterdon. And they found an easy, new way to reach customers. Police refer to it as the "safety premium."

Kearns has been sounding the alarm for more than a year.

The impression most people have of heroin is outdated, he said. The face of heroin isn’t thugs on street corners, peddling to junkies. It’s teenagers in their bedrooms sending texts.

As evidence, consider this: The highest per capita rate of treatment admissions for patients under 25 isn’t in Essex or Camden counties, according to the state’s division of mental health and addiction services.

It’s in Cape May.

— nj.com/starledger

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But not everybody is shooting up the streets.

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There is now so much heroin in New Jersey that a first hit can cost as little as $1.

But once hooked, the craving can be insatiable and spark hundred-dollar-a-day appetites.

And because addicts need a ready source of cash, robberies, assaults and thefts are all on the rise in communities prized for their tranquility, police said.

"There is a tremendous ripple effect that no one appreciates," said Tom Reed, assistant prosecutor assigned to the Sussex County narcotics task force. "People say it is a victimless crime that only hurts the users.

"Nonsense! I got a jail full of people (who) have hurt others."

Because when addicts are finished robbing their families and friends, they often move on to neighbors’ homes and cars.

"A lot of the suspects we bring in on burglaries, they are all saying that the reason they are doing it is to support their heroin habit," said Dover Detective Sgt. Gonzalez.

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How many of these do we have in Cumberland County?

How many are willing to do anything at any cost?

Why are all the stats coming out of North Jersey?

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"Over 90 some percent of our crime is directly related to pills or heroin, for thefts and burglaries," Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said. "The heroin is very bad here."

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Heroin addiction has been described as a series of broken promises to yourself.

You’ll snort but never use a needle. Okay, a needle, but never steal.

OK, steal, but never prostitute.

The lines get crossed as the addiction takes hold.

Users soon become dealers, relying on that money from the safety premium to pay for their own habit.

It’s good business.

Buy enough heroin to supply your friends and neighbors and use the profits to help pay for your own habit.

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Is that where we are today?

Somebody say it.

Drug smugglers move high-grade heroin directly into the area through Newark Liberty International Airport and ports in Newark, Elizabeth and Camden.

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How far are we from Camden?

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All that information is from the Star-Ledger.

If you peeled back the veneer, would you recoil in horror?

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And somebody once thought they were doing something when they said, "Just say no.''

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And you think kids can get out of this problem in families?

And you want to waste good money on a border fence?

And you think the big war is in Afghanistan?

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So, sorry Dave Vanaman.

We apologize, Chief Ott.

Gosh, county prosecutor, we had no idea what you're up against.

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MY KIND OF TOWN: Where we had hoped there was a high-level think tank going on somewhere we didn't know about.